Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus for sport fishing and particularly, to a breakaway line adapted to be installed between a fishing lure and an associated fishing hook, which prevents loss of the lure when the hook becomes snagged.
Discussion of Prior Art
Sport fishermen have long been plagued with the frequent occurrence of losing fishing lures when the hook becomes entangled with underwater objects. Normally, when such entanglement occurs, the fisherman cuts the fishing line or tries to pull it free until the fishing line breaks resulting in a loss of the lure. The potential for such loss necessitates that the angler must bring a number of lures with him during a fishing outing. Moreover, loss of lures translates into a loss of a considerable sum of money over the course of a fishing season, and the lifetime of the fisherman.
Numerous approaches toward avoiding the loss of lures due to hook snagging have been previously proposed. These devices generally attempted to provide a means for releasing the fishing lure from the hook and are attached to the hook and lure and release once a predetermined level of tension force is applied. This level of force is chosen somewhat less than the breaking tensile strength of the fishing line being used, thereby permitting the lure to be recovered while losing only a relatively inexpensive fishing hook.
In one such device described by U.S. Pat. No. 4,125,958, issued to Cote, a ball-and-socket arrangement is used for such a releasable coupling. This device is, however, relatively complex and expensive to manufacture. It is also believed that this device would not provide repeatable and accurate release levels.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,541,720, issued to Buffet, a circular ring is employed to provide a releasable coupling between lure and hook. This device, however, requires specially manufactured hooks and lures in that these associated components must be configured such that the ring can be Installed. Without using a specially designed hook and lure, the Buffet coupling may be installed therebetween using lengths of fishing line attaching the components. This approach, however, would be time consuming and difficult to accomplish.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,768,468 issued to Kibler discloses yet another releasable coupling which employs a roughly figure eight shaped component having one releasing split portion. This invention includes the drawbacks of the previously mentioned Buffet reference in that specially manufactured hooks or lures are needed for a hook-to-lure attachment or the unit must be otherwise connected to them by a separate length of line. The Kibler structure is also complex and relatively expensive to manufacture.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 1,974,381, issued to Swanson, a releasable coupling is provided for a sinker which is dragged along the water bottom during fishing. This releasable coupling is made from formed wire. This device, however, would not provide an accurate and repeatable release level since the free end of the wire must be deformed significantly in order to install the sinker and redeformed to its original position. Such deformation changes the shape of the wire coupling and hence its release level.
Finally, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,696,121, issued to Hernden, an S-shaped breakaway clip is employed to serve as another releasable coupling. This device has several drawbacks, the first being that while the breakaway clip could serve to temporarily connect the lure to a hook, the resulting attachment is not physically closed, allowing for the hook to possibly pop back out of the clip. Furthermore, the installation of the clip requires placing a strain on the clip itself through pulling the ends apart in order to connect it between the hook and lure. This strain could alter the effective tensile strength of the clip, rendering it unreliable. The Hernden apparatus also requires specially manufactured stainless steel clips with a very precise tensile strength, making it expensive to produce a product with consistent quality.
A number of other prior art patents teach complicated mechanical release systems which generally employ a coil spring to sense the level of tension exerted on the hook. These devices are, however, considerably costly and therefore not suitable for everyday use by fishermen.
In view of the above, it is a principal object of this invention to provide a breakaway coupling between a fishing lure and hook which fails at a predetermined load level enabling the lure to be pulled from the hook in the event that the hook becomes snagged. It is a further object to provide such a breakaway coupling which serves to physically attach the hook to the lure completely in a closed fashion, and is very inexpensive to manufacture and use.
The principal objects of this invention are provided by a specially designed breakaway line made from a piece of flexible line which is formed to have two loops terminating at two respective slip knots located in static positions a specific distance from each other. The loops facilitate simple and quick attachment of the breakaway line to the associated tackle components. The slip knots facilitate easy tightening of the apparatus to complete installation.
The breakaway line may be inserted between the fishing lure and associated hook and can be installed on existing fishing lures and hooks. The breakaway line according to this invention enables easily adjusted release tension levels by changing the weight tested fishing line of the stock from which the breakaway line is made. The recommendation is that the breakaway line used by the fisherman be of a tested weight of at least 2 pounds less that the fishing line used to connect the lure to the fishing rod and reel. This allows for the breakaway line to fail, rather than the leading fishing line, in the event of a snag, resulting in the loss of a hook rather than an expensive fishing lure.
Accordingly, in contrast of all of the before mentioned patents, several objects and advantages of this invention are:
(a) Since the material that makes up the breakaway line consists of standard type fishing line, it is very inexpensive to produce. There are no additional costs to manufacture specially formed metallic components that must be carefully stress tested to break at predetermined weights. Since standard type fishing line is widely used and available in a variety of weight tested forms, the primary source of material supply is very inexpensive, leaving only labor as an additional cost for production.
(b) The simplicity of the apparatus is another major advantage, allowing the average fisherman to easily attach the breakaway line to a hook and lure while in the field in a quick and easy fashion without the need to any additional specially designed parts. Prior inventions require either complex installation procedures that take too much time, making them ineffective, or additional specially designed hooks, lures, or other parts.
(c) The breakaway line constitutes a permanent, closed physical attachment between the hook and the lure until it is broken. The knots that are formed during installation are completely closed, in effect tying the hook to the lure, and are not at risk for accidentally popping off or coming apart as with prior inventions.
Further objects and advantages of the breakaway line will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description.
In accordance with the present invention the breakaway line comprises a specially designed length of flexible line comprised of two loops and two slip knots designed for quick and easy attachment of a hook to a fishing lure.